Product and sales noted a gap in the demographics of those who booked at cottages.com, that gap happened to be millennials.
I was asked to produce some personalised content that would appeal to millennials.
To choose what to say and how to say it, I needed to conduct some research. Nothing too in depth; definitions, articles, social media and trends. All of this was very helpful in giving insight to the millennial generation.
Disciplines & Responsibilities:
- Research & Analysis
- Concept Design
- Presenting
Millennial profile
- Socially & environmentally conscious.
- Experience lead: New & Novel, Authentic immersion, Local culture, healthy & locally sourced food.
- Want to tell a story about something interesting.
- Poke fun at the formal & awkwardness.
- They are Authentic and rebel against being fake & disingenuous.
- Follow a collaborative culture.
- Exercise & active: walking, climbing, MTB, cycling, MMA, paddle boarding, open swimming.
- Want to be surprised and delighted.
- Events: sports, music, food, weddings, significant birthdays.
Tone of voice
- Friendly
- Authentic & genuine
- Transparent
- Poke fun at formality and awkwardness
- Socially & environmentally minded
- Experiential and story driven
Imagery
- Lifestyle
- Communal
- Fun activities
- Memorable moments
- Beautiful views
- Instagrammable interiors
- Quirky properties & interiors
How to present cottages.com product
Next steps were to take the new learnings and see how the product could be grouped into an attractive offering, making a connection to the values and beliefs of the millennial generation.
Product
Unique + Novel
- Castles, windmills, gate houses, boats and quirky properties.
- Instagrammable
- Themed: Classical, Retro, Mid Century, Minimalist, Scandinavian design, grand designs.
- Working farm
- Wine making
- Social active projects
Luxury
- Luxury experience; decorated to a high degree, lush furnishing.
- High end features; steam room, sauna, power showers, rain showers…
- Spa treatments, private swimming pool & hot tubs.
- Instagramable
- Great views
Near big events
- Tour of Yorkshire
- Silverstone
- Yorkshire coast winter events
- Food and drink festivals
- Comedy
- Chelsea flower show
- Royal Ascot
- Cows week
- Fowey and Polruan, Royal Regatta
- Glyndebourne
- Hogmanay Edinburgh
- Robin Hood Festival in Sherwood Forest
- Edinburgh Fringe
- Obby Oss, Cornwall
- Chinese New Year, Liverpool
Locations of beauty
- Great views
- instagrammable
- National parks
- Lake District
- Cotswolds
- Coastal
- Highlands
- Islands
- France
- Italy
Activity
- Climbing
- Walking
- Mountain biking, downhill
- Road cycling
- Yoga
- Surfing
- Kayaking
Culturally rich locations
- Art galleries
- Historic locations
- Literature locations
- Theater
- Media
- Philosophy
- Architecture
- Education
- Music
Located near good food + shopping
- Michelin star restaurants
- Awesome places to shop
Messaging for unique selling points
I gathered some thoughts, based on cottages.com’s values and resources, that would engage with millennials values and create a springboard for future marketing messages.
Research applied
A slightly fresher approach was needed to lift the homepage, bring lifestyle to the forefront, as well as how the messaging was laid out.
Experience pod messaging
Some real life product and locations were collated including design examples.
Locations for some of the product
Surfing
- Watergate Bay, Cornwall
- Saltburn, Cleveland, north-east England
- Pease Bay, Borders, Scotland
- Llangennith, Gower, Wales
Mountain Biking
- Coed Y Brenin, North Wales
- Cannock Chase, Staffordshire
- Dalby Forest, Scarborough
- Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire
- Grizedale, Lake District
- Gisburn Forest, Lancashire
Photography
- Carreg Cennen
- York
- Jurassic Coast
- Durham
- Yorkshire Dales
- Isle of Harris
- Lake District
- Peak District
- Dartmoor National Park
- Kilchurn Castle
Wildlife, Gardens & Sculpture parks.
Unique + Novel
- Quirky property feature
Walking/hiking
- Hadrian’s Wall
- West Highland Way
- Lizard Peninsula, Cornwall
- Wester Ross, Scottish Highlands
- Helvellyn, Lake District
Example Designs
Any changes would need to fit in with the existing layout, without too much deviation. Changes to the leading Hero image and tagline were simple, but the following three advertising pods were a departure from the current design at the time. The new structure was simple enough and was carried out with ease making use of Adobe Target’s experiences.
On the property results page a similar change was made to the leading image, this would be based on the visitors interest. Further suggestions were placed at the top of the property results, with feature suggestions half way through the property listings.
